Improved sewer-excavator



cantieri gettata @anni comite.

Letters 'Patent No. 99,016, dated January 18, 1870.

IMPROVED SEWER-EXCAVATOR.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters: Patent and making part of thesame.

To all whom it may concern: V Be it known that I, FRANCIS W. SLATER, ofBay City, in the county of Bay, and State of Michigan, have inventedcertain new and ,useful Improvements in Excavating-IVIachines; and I dohereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,and to t-he letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part ofthis specification. p

The nature of my invention consist-s in the construction and arrangementof a sewer-excavator, which is self-feeding, and can be adjusted to anyangle and to any depth desired.

In order to enable others skilled in the art to which my invent-ionappertains, to make and use the same, I will now proceed to describe itsconstruction and operation, referring to the annexed drawings, in which-Figure l is a side elevation, and

Figure 2, a-front view of my machine.

A represents a frame of suitable dimensions, mounted upon fourtruck-wheels B B.

Upon the rear end of the frame A, a boiler should be placed, with anengine, C, on each side, and said engines connecting with the cranks DD, upon the shaft E, which is mounted, in suitable bearings, across theframe A.

The shaft E is, ou each end within the frame A, provided with acog-wheel, G, which gears with larger cog-wheels H H, upon thebucket-shaft I, thus communicating the necessary rotary motionv to thesame.

Upon the buckct-shait I are placed two ratchetpawls a a, pressedout-ward by means of a spring, b, which pawls support two slotted beamsJ J, by means of ratchet-teeth placed on their inner sides, in which thepawls catch.

The shaft I passes through the slots inl the beams J J, which areconnected together at a suitable distance apart, and held at any angledesired, by means of the adjustable braces K 1i'.

It might here be mentioned that the pawlsa aare provided with collars,through which the shaft I passes, so that the pawls may be moved on theshaft, and the shaft revolve within the collars.

The beams J J 'are raised and lowered at will, by means of pinions el d,mounted upon shafts on each side,and the shafts turned by levers e e.

The pinions d d gear with rack-bars f j, placed upon the outside of thebeams J J. o

The pawls a a being pressed inward out of' the ratchet-teeth, by anysuitable means, by turning the levers e e the frame J is readily raisedor lowered at pleasure.

Between the lower ends of the beams J J is pivoted a roller, L, and atthe upper endsof said beams is mounted a shaft, M, upon which are placedtwo toothed wheels g g.

Around these wheels and the roller L are passed endless chains h h,across which are secured a series of buckets N N. These buckets areformed almost in the shape of a V, with holes in the bottom to allow thewater to pass out while the dirt is carried upward, and, as the bucketsturn over the wheels g g, they are discharged from their contents, bymeans of a false bottonn'i, hinged within each bucket, which willcutirel y free the bucket from all dirt.

The shaft M, with the chains h hand buckets N N, receive their motionfrom the bucket-shaft I, by means of endless chains k lr, passed aroundtoothed wheels m m, on the shaft I, and similar wheels n n, on the shaftM.

On one end of a bucket-shaft I is a pulley, O, which, by a belt, P, isconnected with and communicates motion to a wheel, It, and shaft S, onwhich said wheel is mounted the shaft- S, being placed in suitablejournal-boxes across the front end ofthe frame A.

One end of a rope is to be attached to the shaft S, and the other end tosome point ahead, whereby the machine is fed along the ground.

To the rear side of the beams J J is attached an inclined spout, T, intowhich lthe dirt falls as it is discharged from the buckets N N, and isthence carried otf by an apron or other suitable means.

Having thus fully described my invention,

Vhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The frame A, engine C, cranks D D, shaft IC, cog-wheels G H H,slotted beams J J, and bucketshaft I all constructed, combined, andarranged to operate in the manner set forth.

2. IVith the device mentioned above, the arrangement of pawls a a,spring b, slotted beams J J, adjustable braces K K, and levers c e, allconstructed and operating as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, A

I aiiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

FRANCIS IV. SLA'IER.

Witnesses H.v G. Romains, GEORGE P. COBB.

